Chapter 2: Sky in her Eyes
by xXxVampireGoddessxXx
Summary: Meet Skaia Strife, younger sister of Cloud Strife. She deeply adores Vincent Valentine, who is the only person she knows who doesn't acknoledge her existence. She naively plans to save both her brother and crush from their fears and terrible pasts.


Chapter 2: Sky in her Eyes

"Muahaha!!" A pretty blonde girl tossed her remote controller onto the ground and leapt from her comfortable position on the couch to gloat. "I, Skaia Azure Strife, master of all the universes, have defeated thee!"

Her opponent, a certain 18-year-old, black-haired Japanese girl, pouted for half a second before replying tartly, "You cheated."

"Did not."

"You _must_ have. I _always_ win. I have a _record, _Sky."

"Well, for your information, Yuffie Kisaragi," Skaia said, taking on her matter-of-fact, authoritative air, "your record hath now been broken. Henceforth, I shall be known as the new ruler of video games." Closing her eyes, she placed her hand on her heart and dramatically fell to one knee.

Yuffie rolled her eyes and laughed. "You look ridiculous."

Sky peeked out one eye at her and stuck out her tongue.

"Do I really want to know what you're doing?"

Sky gasped at the sound of the new voice and collected herself from the ground to stare at the newcomer. "Vincent!" she gasped.

"Vincent!" Yuffie mimicked quietly, casting a sly glance at Sky.

Sky ignored her and immediately ran her fingers through her long blonde hair, trying to arrange it as inconspicuously as possible.

But Vincent was no longer watching. He sauntered into the next room without casting even a curious look in Sky's direction.

Sky let out her breath in a loud whoosh and collapsed once more onto the couch, no longer caring how crumpled that made her hair. "God, why, Yuffie? Why?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Don't ask me. You do know that he --"

Sky cut her off with a groan. "Don't say it."

"Say what?" Yuffie asked innocently.

"Say that he's too old for me. I know, already. Cloud's told me. Reno's told me. You've told me. I'm just --"

"Just what? Waiting for _Vincent_ to tell you?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. I dunno." Sky sat up and stared at the ground, indicating that she finished with the conversation. Even though Vincent's raven wing's black hair and crimson eyes flashed through her mind again and again, as always. She sighed.

"Wanna rematch?" Yuffie inquired.

"Nah. I'm not interested anymore."

"Hmm, you know, we should find you a boyfriend. I hear Reno's available …" Yuffie's voice trailed off, teasing.

_Eww, _Sky thought. _I mean, Reno's a cutie and all, but I've never seen him like that. Reno's like my best friend. _"I don't want Reno," she sighed. "You know that."

"Yeah, I know."

§¨©ª

"Psh. How can you say that?"

"Because it's true."

"Cloud, I'm telling you: I didn't take the last of the peanut butter."

"Okay."

Sky bit her lip as Cloud Strife, her older brother, submitted. He had never used to allow himself to so easily lose the argument. Lately -- or as 'lately' as the past few years were -- Cloud had been really quiet. If anyone brought up a topic that touched a sore spot, he would fold into himself and no one could get into his head. Sometimes he just disappeared for long periods of time, without even telling Sky.

Sky missed him. Even though she had been very young when it had existed, she missed her older brother's quick smile. Now, if he ever smiled at all, it would be distant and fuzzy.

"You know what," Sky said, trying not to show her disappointment at Cloud's silence, "I _did_ take the last of the peanut butter. Take me away, officer." She held out her wrists and grinned.

Cloud only smiled weakly before his eyes drifted to the kitchen window and out at the pounding rain.

Sky sighed in defeat and followed his gaze. "I hope Reno gets back soon. Where did he go, anyway?"

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. He just said he was going out, because he had a weird feeling."

"Of course he would have a weird feeling. Reno's just weird."

"Yeah, I guess." Cloud drifted toward the doorway leading out into the rain, his eyes unfocused as usual.

Sky suppressed another sigh and headed back into the main room of the inn.

Vincent was dozing on the brown leather couch. At least, it _looked _like he was dozing. With Vincent, you could never tell if his eyes were closed because he was sleeping, or just because they happened to be closed. Whichever the case, he seemed to always hear and see everything anyway. Nevertheless, his chest moved slowly up and down, and the tendrils of black hair in his face twitched slightly as he breathed.

Sky was reminded of the time when she first met Vincent. Upon seeing her startlingly blue iris', he had called her the girl with "the sky in her eyes". _Sky in her eyes._

Sky stifled a longing sigh and shuffled around the couch toward the bar area where Tifa was cleaning up for the night. She hopped onto one of the empty barstools. "Hey, Tifa," she whispered, not wanting to disturb the sleeping god.

"Hi there, Sky." As usual, Tifa's smile was warm and it made Sky less depressed about Cloud's … condition. "And we don't have to whisper. I don't think Vincent's sleeping."

"I'm not," came the voice from the couch, only slightly drowsy.

Those two words made Sky shiver. She tried not to blush under Tifa's knowing brown-eyed gaze and said, "Could I get a lemonade, please?" She pulled a few gil from her pocket and placed them on the counter.

Tifa shook her head, smiling. "On the house."

Sky shrugged and put the money back into her pocket, planning on sneaking into the bar that night to put the money into the cash register.

"Here you are." Tifa placed the drink in front of Sky and came around the side of the bar. "And I am so done for tonight."

"Thanks," Sky said gratefully. The lemonade was sweet and the tartness momentarily took her mind off of anything that wanted to be there. Sky spun around on the barstool. She could see part of Vincent's chest moving chest beneath the red cloak as he breathed. He _was_ like a god. So dark and mysterious, while at the same time powerful and lovely. And he was so sad all the time.

_Sort of like Cloud, _Sky thought. But whereas Cloud was distant and was seemingly always lost in painful thought, Vincent was a furious kind of depressed, almost as if he was chained to the earth and was angry about it.

_I'm going to lose them,_ Sky thought despondently, sipping her now-tasteless lemonade. _I will lose them if I don't do something. I must do something. I must._


End file.
